Travis Kalanick is telling people he will pull a Steve Jobs and return as Uber's CEO

Travis Kalanick, the
former CEO of Uber.Robert
Schlesinger/DPA/PA Images

Uber's search for a new CEO is full of Machiavellian drama.

The company's former chief executive, Travis Kalanick, may have
stepped down from the top position, but he's angling for a
glorious return, according to a report
in Recode.

Kalanick reportedly told several people at the company that he
was "Steve Jobs-ing it", a reference to the cofounder of Apple
who was fired from the company but later returned and turned it
into the world's most valuable firm.

Kalanick wasn't fired, but he resigned last month
after months of problems at the company, mostly attributed to its "bro"
culture. The crisis blew up in February when a former Uber
employee wrote a blog post describing persistent harassment and
sexism at the company, and it stayed visible after a video
emerged of Kalanick shouting at an Uber driver; an Uber executive
was fired after he reportedly accessed the medical records of a
victim who had been raped by an Uber driver in India; and the
company used secret software to dodge city regulators.

Now the company is on the hunt for a new leader, and Kalanick is
apparently trying to ensure a favourable outcome for himself.

Uber is still whittling down candidates for the CEO role, and
whoever takes the job will do so knowing Kalanick remains on the
company's board. According to Recode, Kalanick is one of the most
off-putting factors for anyone thinking about taking the job.

Recode spoke with three people it said were contacted for the CEO
job, and they all reportedly cited Travis as one of Uber's
biggest continuing problems. "Man, he's brilliant and so
important, but who wants to deal with Travis?" one said.

According to the report, Kalanick has returned from a brief break
from Uber to try to take part in the company's day-to-day
operations. Uber has had to reinforce a policy in which all the
company directors get access to only the same limited amount of
information about its everyday operations. Part of the problem,
according to some, is that Uber has been Kalanick's "life" — and
it's been hard to let go.

But that's not all. SoftBank's involvement could further muddy
the waters in terms of who's in power. It's possible that
Kalanick would use the investment to dilute other shareholders'
power and turn SoftBank chief executive Masayoshi Son into an
ally who favours his return, The Times said.

It's unlikely we'll see Kalanick return as CEO anytime soon,
since he just doesn't have the backing of the board. But it looks
as if the drama will continue for a while yet.